Gratitude for teachers as a psychological resource for early adolescents: A mixed-methods study

In this mixed-methods study, we examine students’ gratitude for their teachers and the implications of that gratitude for their psychological adaptation. We report findings that gratitude for teachers (GT) is, in fact, a resource for students facing difficult circumstances outside school. More specifically, our hierarchical multiple regression models demonstrate that this form of gratitude decreases the negative association between adverse life events and students’ life satisfaction. GT also decreases the positive association between negative life events and students’ perceived stress. Then, we use coded material from student interviews to illustrate how they understand the ways that their GT helps them manage challenges in their personal lives. We conclude that students’ GT buffers the negative impact of adverse life events, because it helps students attend to the positive interactions and mentorship they have with their teachers and maintain focus on their future-oriented goals.     

Contribution of uncertainty in estimation of active drag using assisted towing method in front crawl swimming

Active drag force in swimming can be calculated from a function of five different variables: swim velocity, tow velocity, belt force, power output and exponent of velocity. The accuracy of the drag force value is dependent on the accuracy of each variable, and on the contribution of each variable to drag estimation. To calculate uncertainty in drag value, first the derivatives of the active drag equation with respect to each variable were obtained. Second, these were multiplied by the uncertainty of that variable. Twelve national age and open level swimmers were recruited to complete four free swimming and five active drag trials. The uncertainties for the free and the tow swim velocities, and for the belt force, contributed approximately 5–6% and 2–3% error, respectively, in calculation of drag. The result of the uncertainty of the velocity exponent (1.8–2.6) indicated a contribution of about 6% error in active drag. The contribution of unequal power output showed that if a power changed 7.5% between conditions, it would lead to about 30% error in calculated drag. Consequently, if a swimmer did not maintain constant power output between conditions, there would be substantial errors in the calculation of active drag.     

Food intake and appetite following school-based high-intensity interval training in 9–11-year-old children

Using a randomised cross-over design, free-living lunch intake and subjective appetite were examined in 10 children (9.8 ± 0.6 years) following high-intensity interval training (HIIT) versus a control sedentary (SED) period, within a school setting. The 22-min HIIT took place during a regular PE lesson and consisted of two rounds of 4 × 30 s sprints. Foods were offered at a regular school lunch immediately following HIIT and SED and were matched between conditions. All food was covertly weighed before and after the meal. Hunger, fullness and prospective consumption were reported immediately before and after HIIT/SED, using visual analogue scales. Heart rate was higher during HIIT than SED (159.3 ± 23.1 vs. 76.9 ± 2.2 bpm, P < 0.05). Lunch energy intake was not different (P = 0.52) following HIIT, compared to SED (2.06 ± 0.35 vs. 2.09 ± 0.29 MJ, respectively). There were no significant differences in macronutrient intake or subjective appetite (P > 0.05). Results suggest that HIIT can be implemented in a PE lesson immediately before lunch, without causing a compensatory increase in food consumption.     

Teaching Creativity and Inventive Problem Solving in Science

Engaging learners in the excitement of science, helping them discover the value of evidence-based reasoning and higher-order cognitive skills, and teaching them to become creative problem solvers have long been goals of science education reformers. But the means to achieve these goals, especially methods to promote creative thinking in scientific problem solving, have not become widely known or used. In this essay, I review the evidence that creativity is not a single hard-to-measure property. The creative process can be explained by reference to increasingly well-understood cognitive skills such as cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control that are widely distributed in the population. I explore the relationship between creativity and the higher-order cognitive skills, review assessment methods, and describe several instructional strategies for enhancing creative problem solving in the college classroom. Evidence suggests that instruction to support the development of creativity requires inquiry-based teaching that includes explicit strategies to promote cognitive flexibility. Students need to be repeatedly reminded and shown how to be creative, to integrate material across subject areas, to question their own assumptions, and to imagine other viewpoints and possibilities. Further research is required to determine whether college students'' learning will be enhanced by these measures.     

In Praise of Harmony: The Kantian Imperative and Hegelian Sittlichkeit As the Principle and Substance of Moral Conduct in Sport

My argument will proceed as follows. I will first sketch out the broad internalist case for pitching its normative account of sport in the abstract manner that following Dworkin’s lead in the philosophy of law its adherents insist upon. I will next show that the normative deficiencies in social conventions broad internalists uncover are indeed telling but misplaced since they hold only for what David Lewis famously called ‘coordinating’ conventions. I will then distinguish coordinating conventions from deep ones and make my case not only for the normative salience of deep conventions but for their normative superiority over the abstract normative principles broad internalists champion.     

INTRODUCTION

This article contains a brief set of reflections on the history and development of the International Association for the Philosophy of Sport and of sport philosophy in general over the past four decades.     

An examination of psychosocial variables moderating the relationship between life stress and injury time-loss among athletes of a high standard

Based on Williams and Andersen's model of stress and athletic injury, six psychosocial variables were assessed as possible moderators of the relationship between life stress and injury among 121 athletes (65 males, 56 females) competing in a variety of sports at state, national or international level. No significant effects of the sex of the participants were evident. Correlational analyses revealed moderator effects of several variables. Specifically, dispositional optimism and hardiness were related to decreased injury time-loss in athletes when positive life change increased, and global self-esteem was associated with decreased injury time-loss when both negative life change and total life change increased. The results indicate that athletes with more optimism, hardiness or global self-esteem may cope more effectively with life change stress, resulting in reduced injury vulnerability and recovery rates.     

Demographic characteristics of elite Kenyan endurance runners

Abstract

Kenyan athletes have dominated international distance running in recent years. Explanations for their success include favourable physiological characteristics, which could include favourable genetic endowment, and advantageous environmental conditions. The aim of this study was to compare the demographic characteristics of elite Kenyan runners with those of the general Kenyan population. Questionnaires, administered to 404 elite Kenyan runners specializing in distances ranging from the 800 m to the marathon and 87 Kenyan controls, obtained information on place of birth, language, and distance and method of travel to school. Athletes were separated into two groups according to athletic success: those who competed in international competition and those who competed in national competition. The athletes differed from controls in regional distribution, language, and distance and method of travel to school; athletes also differed from each other with the exception of method of travel to school. Most national and international athletes came from the Rift Valley province (controls 20%, national athletes 65%, international athletes 81%), belonged to the Kalenjin ethnic group (controls 8%, national athletes 49%, international athletes 76%) and Nandi sub-tribe (controls 5%, national athletes 25%, international athletes 44%), and spoke languages of Nilotic origin (controls 21%, national athletes 60%, international athletes 79%). A higher proportion of all athletes ran to school each day (controls 22%, national athletes 73%, international athletes 81%) and covered greater distances. In conclusion, Kenyan runners are from a distinctive environmental background in terms of geographical distribution, ethnicity and travelled further to school, mostly by running. These findings highlight the importance of environmental and social factors in the success of Kenyan runners.